Athlete Ally Responds to ND Trans Athlete Ban
April 12, 2023 – Athlete Ally responded today to news that last night, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed two transgender athlete bans (House Bill 1249 and House Bill 1489) into law, effectively prohibiting transgender girls and women from joining girls and women’s sports teams in K-12 and college. This makes North Dakota the 21st state to ban transgender girls and women from sports.
“Transgender girls and women in North Dakota — and across the country — are in no way a threat to women’s sports and deserve to be able to participate in the sports they love,” said Joanna Hoffman, Communications Director at Athlete Ally. “We know from extensive research that transgender women do not have an inherent advantage in sports, and that when transgender girls are included in sports, participation rates are stronger for all girls. Excluding transgender girls and women does nothing to protect women’s sports or to solve for the rampant inequities in pay and resources. What all girls and women deserve is to be able to be their full selves, free from discrimination, in all parts of their lives.”